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Opponents of a controversial road scheme which would see residents forced from their homes are calling for a public inquiry.
Highways England's £125 million plan to improve the A2 junction at Bean involves the compulsory purchase and demolition of 11 homes in Bean Lane, and would see Spirits Rest Horse Sanctuary forced to move from nearby land.
But Bean Residents Association says the scheme has not been thought through, and hope to take the plan to a public inquiry.
An official period of public consultation ends this week and the residents association's official response lists a host of objections, stating Highways England do not have a proper case for compulsory purchase and that residents are being unduly pressurised to leave their homes.
They also say Highways England has failed to properly gauge the weight of traffic which could be using the junction, and that the so-called improvements - which would include traffic lights on enlarged roundabouts - could still result in gridlock at peak times.
Highways England says it meets regularly with the residents association and will respond to concerns under the formal consultation process.
Ashley Johnson, the association’s assistant secretary, said planners had also failed to properly predict the true weight of traffic using the road.
“It’s very unsatisfactory. I think the treatment of the people is very poor...” Ashley Johnson
“We’re pretty annoyed by the scheme because it’s not designed to deal with Bluewater traffic,” he said. “The plan is based on average traffic on a weekday, but they’ve excluded weekends and holidays which is important for Bluewater.
“We don’t know how bad it would be because they’ve never produced the figures.”
Mr Johnson said only four of the 11 home owners threatened directly had agreed to move out and that they were not given assistance to find alternative accommodation beyond a simple cheque.
And he said promises to help Spirits Rest Horse Sanctuary find an alternative site had failed to materialise.
“This is now a year and a half after the announcement was made,” he added. “It’s very unsatisfactory. I think the treatment of the people is very poor.”
Jan Becket, parish clerk for Bean Parish Council said the parish council fully supported the concerns raised by the Residents Association.
Brian Gash, Highways England senior project manager, said: “We are in regular contact with the Bean Residents Association and meet with them regularly. We will respond to their concerns as part of the formal consultation process.
"We are grateful to Bean Residents Association for engaging with us and we will continue to work closely with them to develop the best possible scheme.”
